


Inventum In Paradisum

by BarryandCisco_FlashVibe



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Alternate Universe, Arranged Marriage, Eventual Romance, M/M, Slash, Vampires, Were-Creatures
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-04
Updated: 2017-05-24
Packaged: 2018-10-27 21:54:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10817502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BarryandCisco_FlashVibe/pseuds/BarryandCisco_FlashVibe
Summary: Once they get to Atlantis, things start happening to McKay that should be impossible. Soon the people of Atlantis will find that there is another Lost City somewhere in the Pegasus Galaxy that may hold the secret to defeating the Wraith, and it may also hold the secrets of the origins of "others" and their true purpose.





	1. Concerns

**Author's Note:**

> This is an alternate universe where there are humans, and there are "others". "Others" consist of Fey, Weres, and Vampires. As this is an alternate universe and an introduction of a new culture, there may be questions, but they will be answered as the story progresses, so please bare with me, and hopefully you enjoy this.

Chapter One

Rodney McKay prided himself on being the smartest man in two galaxies. It was an irrefutable fact, even if believing it, and stating it at every possible opportunity, made people see him as unbearably arrogant. There had been many points in his life where this arrogance got him into loads of trouble, and Duranda just happened to be the latest, and greatest, of these instances.

Rodney was also used to people overlooking his mistakes because of his genius. What he was not used to, was having people he was close to, and worrying about what effect his latest mistake would have on their view of him. Rodney was not used to having friends and that is what made it harder to handle the fact that John was obviously upset with him and no longer trusted his judgement. John had made his distrust clear when he told Rodney that it may take a while to regain his trust in him. That had been the hardest thing for Rodney to hear. Rodney had never had a best friend, but John had slowly been becoming just that for Rodney, but now it was like they were strangers.

As he walked into the Mess Hall, his eyes flitted over his usual table quickly and he grimaced. His team, Teyla, John and the newcomer Ronon, were all sitting there already eating their breakfast. Rodney lowered his gaze and moved to join the line for food. He filled his tray quickly, being sure to avoid the fruit section, and then he made his way over to the furthest corner from his team as possible. Eating alone and in silence was far better than having to sit with his team and feel the animosity and distaste coming from the people he cared about.

Rodney picked at his food uncharacteristically slowly, and tried to ignore the conversations about him that he could hear from around the room. He really needed to take some time to run around in one of his cat forms so he could destress. He would have to speak to Elizabeth and ask for permission to go to the mainland for a bit. Rodney sighed, getting up and dumping his tray of half-eaten food. He kept his eyes down as he fled the Mess Hall with the feeling of several pairs of eyes burning holes in his back with their intensity as they watched him leave.

****

Ronon did not understand these people who lived in the city of the Ancestors. They were so smart, and their technology so advanced, but they were so backward in their treatment of an “other” that the people of the Pegasus Galazy would all but worship. At the very least, the people of this galaxy would respect and honor one such as Dr. McKay, but these people shunned him for a mistake. Ronon had heard that he had destroyed three quarters of a galaxy, but it was uninhabited. Yes it was a huge mistake and lapse in judgement on the genius’ part, but it was not as devastating as it could have been.

“Others” seemed to be abundant amongst the people of Earth, but in the Pegasus Galaxy they were rare. Ronon had been respected and honored amongst his people because of his ability to change form into a large wild Satedan cat called a Satouen.

As rare as “others” are in Pegasus, “others” like McKay are even rarer. There had been tales of “others” that were blessed by the Ancestors with possessing multiple forms, but one of these beings had not lived for generations. It had been so long, that it was believed they were just a myth, and had never actually existed at all.

When Ronon had first seen Dr. McKay hanging from his rope trap on that planet where he had first met the people of Earth, he had known the man was an “other”. He could sense the animal lurking just beneath the surface. It wasn’t until the people of Atlantis had trusted him more, that Teyla had told him about McKay having more than one form. Ronon had yet to see any of McKay’s forms, but he could tell he was a big cat just like him.

Ronon lifted his gaze as he smelled the distinctive smell he knew as Rodney’s, a smell he could only describe as “jungle” due to its intimate mix of moist soil and damp leaves. He frowned as McKay’s eyes flicked over to their table and then away just as quickly. He could feel his Satouen form shifting beneath the surface, as if it was unsettled by everyone else’s treatment of the genius.

He glanced over at Teyla and when their eyes met, he could tell she was as baffled and concerned as he was by their treatment of the genius scientist. Ronon narrowed his eyes and could feel a rumble of frustration in his chest as he watched McKay make a hasty retreat from the Mess Hall.

****

Dr. Elizabeth Weir stared at the empty chair in front of her. It hadn’t been empty just a few moments earlier. Rodney had just left after asking, quite quickly and professionally, for her permission to head to the mainland so he could shift and spend some time in one of his other forms in privacy. She had quickly agreed after seeing the dark circles around the scientist’s eyes and the shakiness of his hands.

Although she was only human, Elizabeth had made it a point to find out everything she needed to know about the health requirements of the “others” who would be coming on this expedition. Dr. Beckett had explained to her that weres specifically needed plenty of time in their animal forms as often as possible to remain healthy, and if they did not have this opportunity it would have a detrimental effect on their physical and mental health. He had gone on to explain that culturally, weres would not want to shift in front of anyone unless those people were invited to see their form, so she would have to permit the weres of the Atlantis expedition to have private moments at least once a month to shift.

Elizabeth was concerned for her Chief Science Officer considering this was the first time he had requested time to shift form. She was aware that he was a were of course, she had made it a point to know the status of all her expedition members. She also knew that Rodney was a clouded leopard, and was the leader of his people. Dr. Weir remembered when she, along with everyone else in the expedition, had been there when he collapsed as soon as they made it across the Event Horizon into Atlantis. They had then been witness to something that was supposed to be impossible.

“Dr. McKay, are you okay?” Elizabeth yelled as she ran to her chief scientist, whom was now lying unconscious as the rest of the expedition continued to make their way in through the stargate. She touched his shoulder and frowned when he did not react at all. She looked up as Dr Beckett fell to his knees beside her, throwing his pack off to the side as he bent to feel his neck for a pulse.

“His pulse is erratic,” Beckett said. “Does anyone know when he ate last?”

“We had some things to discuss, so we discussed them over breakfast this morning,” Elizabeth said.

“Then it’s not the beginnings of a hypoglycemic attack,” Beckett said, shaking his head as he began puttering around Rodney trying to figure out what was wrong with him. Suddenly Beckett pushed Elizabeth back as Rodney began to seize, and then suddenly Rodney’s body began to shift involuntarily. Instead of the clouded leopard form that she was expecting to see, Rodney’s body shifted into that of a beautiful lynx.

Elizabeth gasped and fell back onto her butt as she took in the smallish form in front of her. His fur was greyish brown with black spots, and the longer tufts of black fur on the ends of his ear, made Rodney’s lynx form look adorable.

“How is this possible,” Beckett said as he moved back over to Rodney’s side as he began to move. “Back up slowly Elizabeth.” She did as Beckett said, and gaped as he shifted into a gorgeous grey black and brown border collie.

The border collie lowered himself to a laying position slowly, as the lynx lifted itself from the ground and growled at him. The lynx lowered itself into a position where it looked like it was ready to pounce at any moment, ears flicking back and forth quickly. Elizabeth held her breath because it looked like the lynx was about to pounce on her Chief of Medicine, but a red fox slinked up to flank the collie and they both stared down the lynx.

The lynx took a few moments to eye the two canines before it huffed and turned its back on them. A few moments later, Rodney McKay was again standing in front of her, but with a huge scowl on his face.

“What are you all staring at, get to exploring this place!” He walked away from them all to go explore the area with all the Ancient consoles, muttering about idiots as he went.

Elizabeth glanced to her left to see that Beckett had already shifted, and in the place of the red fox was Miko Kusanagi, the shy Japanese scientist Dr. McKay had handpicked for the expedition. He had given no explanation as to why he wanted her for the expedition, just demanded she be approached for the position.

Elizabeth had then demanded Beckett give her answers as to why Rodney had another form that she didn’t know about. Carson had sworn to her that he hadn’t known either, and that he was pretty sure it was a new development, maybe directly related to coming to Atlantis. After the excitement of their arrival in Atlantis and the subsequent events leading up to Atlantis making its way back to the surface had finally died down, she had made figuring out what had happened with Rodney one of Carson’s top priorities.

The zoologists had a field day when they figured out that Rodney had such a rare form, and had demanded he let them observe him in his lynx form. He had refused quite vehemently and had told them in no uncertain terms, that he would not be treated like a zoo animal and put on display. After what Carson had told her about privacy being a huge part of shifter culture, she couldn’t really blame the man for wanting to hide his forms from assessing eyes.

After a week or so, Carson had come to her and told her that he thought Rodney had always possessed the ability to shift into more than one form but had never been able to tap into it. He believed that coming to Atlantis had been the catalyst for him unlocking this ability, and had theorized that Rodney could actually take multiple forms, it was just a matter of finding another catalyst to unlock them.

His theory had been proved right when he had administered the ATA gene therapy to Rodney. Everything had seemed normal for a few hours, and Rodney had even found the personal shield and eventually saved Atlantis with it. A few days later, they had received a call from Zelenka saying that Rodney had collapsed in the lab. Carson had gone rushing to the labs with a medical team and Elizabeth and Major Sheppard had met him there. The three of them made it there in time to see Rodney shift again, but this time into a snow leopard.

Again Beckett had shifted, and John had explained to her that he was preparing to square off with Rodney if it was needed because when a shifter took their “other” form for the first time, their mind was more animal than human.

When Rodney had started to awaken this time around though, he had slinked off to hide in a corner of the room, crouching down and peering out from the dark corner warily. Elizabeth believed it was because the zoologists had been present when he shifted and had started freaking out about Rodney having another rare cat form. After Rodney had calmed for a minute, he had shifted back, yelling for the zoologists to get over it and start pouring over the Ancient database that was full of alien animals, instead of Earth animals they already knew about.

Elizabeth had been too busy with her duties and the fact that they were cut off from Earth in an unforgiving galaxy, to remember that her Chief Scientist was a were and should be coming to her every month for permission to run wild. Carson, Miko and even Ronon when he had joined them several months ago, had all requested time to go and run in their were forms. But Rodney had not. Elizabeth tapped her radio and called for Carson.

“Yes Elizabeth, how can I help you this morning?” was her Chief of Medicine’s quick and cheerful response over their private channel.

“I’m a little concerned about Rodney,” she said as she closed her office door for more privacy.

“Is everything okay?”

Elizabeth could hear the concern he was feeling in the thickness of his accent. “He has come to me today to request time to go to the mainland and shift.”

“Well that’s good then, but I don’t understand how that is concerning.”

“Carson, this is the first time he has made this request since we arrived here,” she said.

“What? Are you sure?”

“Yes I’m sure Carson, not once has he requested time to himself to shift like the rest of the weres in this expedition. Even some of the rest of the “others” have asked for time to release their true form. So, I’m sure you can understand my concern at this point.”

“That’s alarming Elizabeth. When he gets back, he is going to be having a visit with me,” Carson said. She could hear him typing rapidly, and could only imagine the slough of tests he had cued up for Rodney.

“I’ll make it an order Carson,” she said. She just hoped that everything would be okay with her Chief of Science. He had proven that he was invaluable as a member of their expedition and as a friend. She just hoped that everyone’s reaction to his mistake with Arcturus would not make him think that he was not a valued member of their team, or that they didn't see him as a friend


	2. Contemplation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here is the second chapter. I hope you enjoy it, and thank you to all that left Kudos and comments.

Chapter Two

Rodney felt like a fish out of water in the casual clothes he had selected for his weekend on the mainland. He was wearing a loose-fitting button-up shirt in a light bluish-grey color to compliment his eyes, and an old pair of blue jeans that hugged his ass closely. He wasn’t trying to impress anyone, but his team would be coming to the mainland with him, just in case something happened, so he wanted to look put together so they couldn’t tell how much he was effected by their reactions to the Duranda incident.

He was slowly building up a wall to protect himself from the people he used to consider friends. He took a shuddering breath before entering the Jumper Bay to make his way over to the Jumper they had acquisitioned for this weekend’s pseudo-mission. He frowned as he heard his team laughing raucously, and then stop abruptly as their eyes met his as he approached he huffed and barged passed them, knocking his shoulder into John’s unforgivingly.

He sat in the copilot’s seat as always, took out a power-bar and started eating it, ignoring his team as they took their usual seats. John ignored him as he had been doing since Duranda, and began his usual pre-flight process, getting an all-clear to head out to the mainland.

Rodney spent the entire flight, which felt far too long to him, ignoring the small-talk that was going on between his teammates. When John finally set the Jumper down on the mainland, Rodney was up as quick as a flash, and bounding towards the back to the slowly opening rear hatch. He bounced up and down in place as he impatiently waited for it to open. Before he could race out of the Jumper though, he felt a heavy hand land on his left shoulder.

He turned and his eyes met Shepard’s. “What!” he questioned snappishly. He couldn’t believe the audacity of the man before him, putting his hands on him when he was treating him like they were complete strangers.

Shepard sighed and said, “You should take someone with you McKay.”

“Excuse me? Absolutely not! I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself while shifted Colonel,” Rodney said, shrugging the hand off his shoulder and turning to walk away.

“In case something happens Rodney. At least take Ronon with you.”

“No,” Rodney said dismissively, before running off in the direction of the woods before them. He kept running deeper and deeper into the forest, passing hundreds of trees as he went. He finally came to a stop in a small clearing, knowing that here he was finally out of eyesight of his team.

He sighed and closed his eyes, trying to get his erratic heartbeat to calm before he shifted, he did not want the animal inside to run too wild, and lose himself for longer than he wished to. As his heartbeat and breathing slowed, Rodney decided that he would shift into his clouded leopard form this weekend. It had been far too long since he ran free in any form, let alone that one. He shifted quickly and seamlessly, not even feeling as the bones snapped and shifted and the skin sprouted more and different hair. He flexed his toes and flicked his tail, relearning what it felt like to be in this form, the form he felt the freest in. He bounded off towards the closes tree and began climbing, knowing that up above the forest floor is where he could best stalk his dinner.

****

Ronon glared as he watched the retreating scientist. He grunted as Shepard told them to make camp for the weekend and to enjoy the ability to relax for a few days. As Ronon started gathering the supplies to make a fire, he couldn’t help but wonder about the arrogance and ignorance of the Colonel. For someone who was an “other” himself, he seemed to have no regard at all for the culture of “others”.

He had noticed that the humans and Fey from Earth seemed to treat the weres and vampires with contempt. Ronon really couldn’t understand why. It was hard for him to fathom treating any “other” with contempt, considering how rare any other was in this galaxy. Ronon had only ever known one other “other”, and he had been a vampire who fed off energy just like Dr. McKay’s second in command Zelenka.

Ronon had never met a Fey until he had met Colonel Shepard. He wasn’t even sure that Fey existed in the Pegasus Galaxy. Growing up on Sateda, he had always heard tales of the “others” that were created by the Ancients for some great purpose, but the knowledge of what that was had been lost to the ages. He had heard that weres were the first creation, and then the Ancients made vampires, but each of these creations had not satisfied the Ancients’ wish to create a being that could ascend to a higher plain of existence quicker than they could. They had then created the wraith, hoping that they would finally be successful. He had asked Teyla if her people had any tales of Fey, but she had agreed with his assumption that these “others” were exclusive to Earth.

He was insulted for Rodney when Shepard had suggested that he go with McKay. Weres were only able to see each other shift if they were mates, or if they were invited to run with them. This honor was only ever granted to those they held the closest of connections to like family and brothers-at-arms. Ronon would never follow someone if they were shifted, without their permission. It would be the highest insult. He threw the sticks for their fire down at Shepard’s feet

“You okay big guy,” Shepard asked, raising an eyebrow at Ronon.

Ronon just grunted and moved into the back of the Jumper to help Teyla gather up their camping supplies.

“Are you alright Ronon,” she asked.

“Fine,” he grunted, sifting through the supplies until he found their sleeping bags and tents.

“You are not, you are worried about Dr. McKay,” she said, resting her hand softly on his elbow, forehead creased as she frowned up at him. Ronon glanced up at her and saw that she had that look she seemed to always have when she knew something before you did. “Do not deny it, it is quite plain to see. You have been unable to keep your eyes off of him since you joined us, and you growl every time you think he is being mistreated. Which, admittedly, is quite often as of late,” she said. Ronon shook his head and tried to walk away, but Teyla called after him saying, “Maybe you should think about why you are acting this way were.”

Ronon growled and stomped out to where Shepard had created a fire and started heating something up for dinner. He dumped Shepard’s sleeping bag in the dirt beside him, and went over a few feet from the fire to pitch their tents. As he did so, he heard a big cat’s growl from the woods, and then the sound of a small animal’s fright. Ronon smirked, knowing that McKay was in fact taking care of himself despite Shepard’s doubt in him.

Once the tent was done and he had his portion of the stew that Shepard had commandeered from the Mess, Ronon turned in for the night, knowing that Shepard would take first watch as always. As he lay on top of his sleeping bag, he couldn’t help but wonder about what Teyla had said to him. Why was he so interested in how McKay was treated? Growling all he time like that was a sign of possessiveness, and Ronon had never reacted like that for anyone. He had always thought that those protective instincts would only reveal themselves in him when he found his mate, but if McKay was his mate, why had their bond not at least initiated by now?

Ronon grunted and rolled over, trying to blank his mind so he could sleep. He didn’t want to continue thinking along those lines any longer, or his fears of having a mate that did not acknowledge their bond, may just come true.

****

John Shepard could admit that he was confused. He had been sure that Ronon and he had been developing a friendship or at least some very positive comradery, but now it was as if he and the Satedan were nothing more than mere acquaintances. He had also noticed that Ronon had been tracking McKay with his eyes quite frequently and growling almost imperceptibly any time he saw something he didn’t like going on around the scientist.

He had also started to notice how Teyla was beginning to distance herself from him as well. Before he could always count on her to be there when he needed her, but lately she had begun to close herself off and always found other things to be doing when he sought her out. Rodney’s distance he could understand. The scientist had made a mistake, and had been trying to clear his conscience by doing everything in his power to gain back everyone’s trust.

John wasn’t sure that he didn’t trust Rodney, it was really a lack of trust in his own judgement. He had believed in Rodney, had believed the man could do what he knew was impossible, but he had still convinced Elizabeth that it could be done. He was truly the one at fault for the Duranda incident, and that is what had made him so distant with the scientist. The man had broken down all of his walls, and weaseled his way into becoming his best friend, and that scared him. If he could convince John to go against his better judgement on one occasion, he could do it again.

He worried for Rodney. The man had been running himself ragged, and had definitely not been taking care of himself. As they were flying to the mainland, John had noticed the dark circles around the scientist’s eyes for the first time. He could also tell that the man had lost a significant amount of weight, like he had most uncharacteristically forgotten to eat on more than one occasion.

He really needed to remedy this problem before Rodney stopped taking care of himself altogether. He had wanted Ronon to go with Rodney as he shifted, to make sure the scientist would not do anything stupid, and he did not understand why the Satedan had growled quite loudly at him for the suggestion.

John sighed and smiled at Teyla and waved her off as she seemed to be suggesting she take the first watch. John wasn’t quite tired yet, and he wanted time to think about what he could do to fix the rift that had grown so quickly between him and all of his team members.

****


	3. Confrontations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, these chapters are relatively short. But, my philosophy is to post it as it comes to me, and not try to force it, or I will become disillusioned with the story. So there will probably be a lot of chapters around this length. Also, I like to see it as cliffhangers and it makes the evil part of me happy :p But anyway, please enjoy this.

Chapter Three

Rodney stalked through the forest slowly, back to the clearing where he had shifted two nights ago. He was feeling noticeably lighter, and the cat part of him kept purring in content, so he knew that he had done the right thing in letting himself run free for a bit. He was just sad that it was already over.

He shifted back into his human form, making sure his clothes and hair weren’t disheveled before he began the trek back to his team. The breeze played with his hair as he got closer to where Shepard had parked the Jumper, and he hoped his team would let him keep the calm that had enveloped him this weekend. Knowing it was a false hope, McKay sighed and stepped out of the safe cover of the forest and started towards his team.

The three of them were already packed and waiting for him when he approached, and he hesitantly returned the smile that Teyla sent his way. “How was your weekend Dr. McKay,” she asked.

Startled by the sincerity he sensed in her inquiry, Rodney gaped at her for a few moments before he regained a bit of his composure and said, “It was good, thank you.” He then made a hasty retreat to the relative safety of the Jumper.

Teyla had never shown him anything but kindness and respect, but for some reason he just expected her to feel the same way about him as everyone else seemed to. Rodney hoped that her concern for him was a sign that not everyone hated him due to his mistake.

Before he knew it, they were back at Atlantis and heading out of the Jumper. As they stepped out of the Jumper, they were met by Elizabeth and Carson. Elizabeth had the same look on her face that he had when she was berating him for blowing up three quarters of a galaxy, and Carson had that concerned and exasperated doctor face on.

“Hey Elizabeth. Carson. Something happen while we were gone,” Shepard asked.

“Actually Colonel, it’s what’s been happening for over a year now that I’m concerned about,” Elizabeth said. Her eyes met Rodney’s and she raised an eyebrow at him, crossing her arms. She was challenging him and he could tell from the set of her jaw.

“Aye lad. It seems Rodney here has been disregarding his most basic needs as a were. Did you all know this was his first time requesting a shift vacation,” Carson asked, frowning at Rodney as well as the rest of his team in turn.

“Excuse me,” Rodney said. He scowled at both Carson and Elizabeth before saying, “That is my privacy you just violated, and I am perfectly capable of keeping track of and managing my own needs, thank you very much. Now, if we’re done.” He tried to walk passed them before they could drag him off somewhere or start berating him for something else they felt he had done wrong.

“Oh, I don’t think so lad,” Carson said, grabbing Rodney’s elbow in a firm grip.

“Carson, I respect your ability to use the voodoo arts, but I’m fine. So, if you wouldn’t mind letting me go?” He tried pulling his arm from the usually docile doctor’s grip, but with no success. He had caught Carson in one of his fits of concern over the members of the expedition. Rodney supposed that a doctor's sense of duty trumped the disdain that Carson felt towards him after Duranda.

“Rodney. You can either go with Carson willingly, or I will make it an order. It’s your choice,” Elizabeth said. He could tell by the set of her face and the arch of that eyebrow that she meant business. Usually he would take this as a challenge, but he was too tired after a weekend shifted to be able to put up much of a fight. He sighed and hunched his shoulders in defeat.

“Fine,” he said. He scowled at her and began to march off in the direction of the infirmary. He could sense Carson following far too closely behind him for his comfort, and he gritted his teeth against the residual response of his cat form. His cat would like nothing more than to strike and run for it, but Rodney would never give into that urge. Even if it was towards a person he hated. Rodney knew a whole gambit of testing was in his very near future, but he could handle that if it meant proving that he was fine. Then, he would be free to go back to the solace of his lab and experiments.

****

            “Are you sure about this Elizabeth,” Teyla asked. “I have heard that it can be extremely dangerous for an “other” to stay in their human form exclusively.” She bit her lip as she frowned, hoping that her concern was unfounded, and it had only been a few months since Rodney last shifted, not over a year.

            “Yes Teyla, he has not once requested a shift vacation since we arrived to Atlantis, and Dr. Beckett has told me exactly as you have, that not shifting can be detrimental to a were’s mental and physical health,” Elizabeth said. She could tell the team was concerned for the scientist of their group. She could even see that John was concerned for his best friend, even though he was the one who had been kicking Rodney in the ass the most for his mistake with Duranda. She knew from experience that John having such a strong reaction to Rodney’s mistake was really a response to his own feelings of guilt for the situation.

            “How could McKay be so irresponsible about his own health? He could have compromised so many missions,” Shepard said, crossing his arm and frowning. This new knowledge was bringing into question all the decisions that McKay had ever made in the field, and was making John see the mistake with Duranda in a whole new light. How had he missed this? He had thought of the scientist as his best friend, and he had made sure to keep an eye on him as much as possible, so he had no clue how he had missed something so important. He was mentally kicking himself for being so blind when it came to his friend.

            Teyla frowned at him and said, “We have all been very stressed this past year John. I’m sure it was not done purposefully.”

            John shook his head and said, “This is Rodney we’re talking about here. He never uses his best judgement, especially when it comes to his own health.” John knew better than everyone else how often McKay put the needs of everyone else in Atlantis above his own needs. He had to drag Rodney out of the lab and to the Mess Hall or to bed too many times to count because they scientist was too busy working on some project to make their lives in Atlantis better to remember to eat or sleep. Too many times had he wondered how long the scientist could continue staying up for days on end and sustaining on just powerbars, before he would collapse and John would have to drag him to the Infirmary for Carson to chastise. Yet, he had never noticed anything other than this, or he had never been concerned enough to look any deeper than this. Not just him, but all of Rodney’s friends had missed this.

            Ronon growled and pushed passed Shepard. He was determined to go to the Infirmary and show McKay that someone cared. He would be a silent force of comradery, and he would also be there to make sure that the scientist took better care of himself. He could feel his cat restlessly pacing and wanting to rip apart any who looked at the scientist the wrong way. These feelings were beginning to become too much for him. He had not felt anything this strongly since before he had become a runner, but he was determined to hold onto them, even if the other man did not feel the same way about him.

 


	4. Condition

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter. Hope you enjoy.

Chapter Four

            “Let’s hurry up and get this over with Carson,” Rodney said as he sat on one of the infirmary beds with his arms crossed. Carson just shook his head and moved off to get the supplies he would need for the tests he had planned for one of his most stubborn patients. He already knew this was going to be hours-worth of work, and his patient was going to do his best to annoy the hell out of him.

            Rodney looked up when he heard a deep growl and saw Ronon marching his way in through the infirmary doors, glaring at the nurses that tried to stop his progress towards Rodney. The nurses scattered and kept looking back over their shoulders at Ronon nervously. Rodney frowned as the large Neanderthal-like man sat down in the chair beside his bed. “What are you doing here Conan?” he said.

            He hadn’t gotten to know his new teammate well enough yet to gauge his reactions to any situations, so he was extra wary of the man, especially when all he did was grunt at his inquiry and lean back in his chair, his arms crossed and an eyebrow rose in what Rodney took as a challenge.

            Rodney huffed and turned away from the barbarian wannabe. He had more important things to worry about, like how many damn needles Carson thought he was going to stick him with. He scowled as he saw the large array of things the Scot was bringing over to torture him with. “Now Rodney, try not to be too difficult. Okay?”

            Rodney rolled his eyes and thrust his left arm out to Carson, hoping that a little bit of cooperation would get him out of this mess faster.

****

            After what felt like days of testing, but was truly only a few hours of torture, Rodney had been through the full gambit of medical testing offered in Atlantis. That included several different forms of imaging which he would have to remember to add to his lifelong radiation exposure tally. Throughout the whole process, Ronon had been a silent shadow watching over the proceedings. Rodney wasn’t too sure why the barbarian-esque man was shadowing him, but he didn’t care because the sentiment was truly appreciated. Having another shifter around, that WASN’T sticking him with needles, was calming to his cats that were trying to pace free of his mind.

            As the Scottish doctor made his way back over to him, Rodney began to sweat as he saw the dark look in the man’s eyes and the downturn of his lips. He gave the doctor the best fake smile he could muster but he could tell by the way the man’s eyelid twitched that he failed, and had only succeeded in making the doctor angrier with him. Oh yeah, Rodney could tell that he was about to hear the longest lecture ever given in two galaxies. He sighed and straightened his back, lifting his chin to show the man he would not be easily beaten.

            Carson sighed when he stood in front of the physicist, crossing his arms. “Rodney, I’m disappointed in you. You claim you’re fine, but the bloodwork shows your OS-Cell count is low and moving too sluggishly to protect you during shifting. I’m surprised you weren’t incapacitated by agony from the shift this weekend.”

            Rodney scoffed and said, “I’ve always had a low OS-Cell count Carson, and you know that.”

            Carson sighed and shook his head at his stubborn friend. Rodney was too hard-headed to grasp the fact that what he was doing to himself was dangerous and could have long-lasting effects on his health if he didn’t stop it now. “Your levels are far too low, even for you Rodney, and the scans I did of your brain show the shifter portion of it is not lit up as much as it should be. Your cats will start to go feral if you do not start taking better care of yourself.”

            Rodney jumped when he heard a growl from his left and when he turned that way, he was surprised to still see Ronon over there. He turned back to the pissed off doctor and said, “Just because I haven’t requested time to shift before now, does not mean I have not shifted at all Carson”

            “Shifting and hiding in your room is not enough McKay,” Ronon growled.

            “Tch. What do you care?” Rodney sneered at the man before hopping off the infirmary bed. “I’m fine. Now, if we’re done here, I’ll be getting back to my lab so I can continue my very important work.”

            He turned and came face-to-face with a very stern looking Elizabeth. With her were Teyla, with that look she gave people when she thought they were being stupid (eye arch and everything), and a surprisingly concerned looking Shepherd. “You aren’t going anywhere Rodney,” John said.

            “Oh! So, now you care?” Rodney threw up his hands and said, “What, are you worried this will affect missions Colonel? Well, I assure you, if it hasn’t effected any of my lifesaving attempts so far, it won’t start to any time soon.”

            John looked like he was going to say something else, but Elizabeth beat him to it. “You are suspended from all off-world missions until Dr. Beckett feels you are again fit for duty.”

            Rodney gaped at her. He literally felt like a fish out of water, lips coming together only to fall back into a gape when he was unable to find anything to say in reply. Was she trying to humiliate him even more by punishing him in front of his team and whoever else was in the infirmary right now? That was the only explanation he could come up with for why she was doing this to him, taking away one of the few things that he truly enjoyed.

            “Fine,” he said. His gaze dropped to look at the floor and he shouldered passed Shepherd on his way out of the infirmary, refusing to make eye contact with anyone as he headed, not to his lab, but to his personal quarters.

            When he was safely behind closed doors, in his own personal space, Rodney lost it. That was the only word for why he would ruin a perfectly good table by flipping it, and all of its rather abundant contents, onto the floor. His back hit his door and he slid to the floor, hugging his knees to his chest and resting his forehead on his knees. He had just been made practically useless for anything other than his skills at maintaining the city’s systems. He could feel his cats’ agitation and wanted to let them rip into everything in his room, but he resisted that temptation, knowing it would just cause him more problems with his colleagues.

****


End file.
